Title: "Titanic"
Director: James Cameron
Producers: J. Cameron and J. Landau
Editing: J. Cameron, C. Buff, and R.A. Harris
Composer: James Horner
Starring:
- Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson
- Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater
- Billy Zane as Caledon Nathan "Cal" Hockley
- Bill Paxton as Brock Lovett
- Kathy Bates as Margaret "Molly" Brown
- Bernard Hill as Captain John Edward Smith
Plot and Critical Review: In 1996, treasure hunter Brock Lovett and his team explore the wreck of the RMS Titanic, searching for a necklace set with a valuable blue diamond called the Heart of the Ocean. They believe the diamond is in Caledon "Cal" Hockley's safe, which they recover. They do not find the diamond, but a sketch of a nude woman wearing the diamond. The drawing is dated April 14, 1912, the night the Titanic hit the iceberg. One-hundred-year-old Rose Dawson Calvert learns of the drawing and contacts Lovett, informing him that she is the woman in the drawing. She and her granddaughter Elizabeth "Lizzy" Calvert visit Lovett and his team. When asked if she knew the whereabouts of the necklace, Rose recalls her memories aboard the Titanic, revealing that she is Rose DeWitt Bukater, a passenger believed to have died in the sinking.
In 1912, the upper class 17-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater boards the Titanic in Southampton, England with her 30-something fiancé Caledon "Cal" Hockley and her mother, Ruth DeWitt Bukater. Cal and Ruth stress the importance of Rose's engagement, since the marriage will mean the eradication of the Dewitt-Bukater debts; while they appear upper-class, Rose and her mother are experiencing severe financial troubles. Distraught and frustrated by her engagement, Rose considers attempting suicide by jumping off the stern of the ship. Before she leaps, a drifter and artist named Jack Dawson intervenes and persuades her not to. As he helps her up from the stern, her dress catches and she falls. Jack grabs Rose's arm and helps her to pull herself back onto the boat. Cal, his friends and the sailors, overhearing Rose's screams, believe Jack attempted to rape her. She explains that Jack saved her life, hiding her suicide attempt by claiming she slipped while trying to see the propellers. Jack supports Rose's story, though Hockley's manservant, former Pinkerton agent Spicer Lovejoy, is unconvinced. Jack and Rose develop a tentative friendship. Soon after, Cal and Ruth forbid her to see Jack again. Rose defies them and meets Jack at the bow of the ship. She has decided she would rather be with him than with Cal, and the two share a passionate kiss.
They go to Rose's stateroom, where she asks Jack to sketch her wearing nothing but the Heart of the Ocean, an engagement present from Cal. Afterwards, the two hide in William Carter's Renault (stowed in the cargo hold) and make love in the backseat before moving to the ship's forward well deck. After witnessing the ship's collision with an iceberg and overhearing the ship's lookouts discussing how serious it is, Rose tells Jack they should warn her mother and Cal. Cal has discovered Rose's drawing and her taunting note in his safe, so he frames Jack for stealing the Heart of the Ocean by having Lovejoy plant it in Jack's pocket. Jack is arrested, taken down to the Master-at-arms's office and handcuffed to a pipe. Rose runs away from Cal and her mother (who has boarded a lifeboat) to rescue Jack from imprisonment. She frees him with an axe.
After much turmoil, Jack and Rose return to the top deck. Cal and Jack want Rose safe, so they persuade her to board a lifeboat, Cal claiming that he has an arrangement that will allow him and Jack to get off safely. After Rose is out of earshot, Cal admits that there is an arrangement, but he will not use it to help Jack. Realizing that she cannot leave Jack, Rose jumps back on the ship and reunites with him. Infuriated, Cal takes Lovejoy's pistol and chases Jack and Rose into the flooding dining saloon. When Cal runs out of ammunition, he sarcastically wishes them well, then realizes he left the Heart of the Ocean in Rose's overcoat. Cal abandons Lovejoy and returns to the boat deck, where he boards a lifeboat by pretending to look after an abandoned child. Jack and Rose go through grueling struggles just to return to the top deck. By the time they do, people everywhere are falling to their deaths and the lifeboats have gone. The ship begins to quickly sink. Jack and Rose take refuge on the now-vertical stern, which washes them into the Atlantic Ocean. They grab hold of a door that only supports one person. Jack remains in the water, clinging to the door. As Rose accepts their fate, Jack assures her that she will live to have a long, happy life. He says that when she dies it will be in her own bed. As they await rescue, Jack dies from hypothermia.
When a lifeboat finally returns to the site of the sinking, Rose is thinking of staying put and dying with Jack, but is then inspired by Jack's words and determined to live. She blows a whistle taken from a nearby frozen crew member, and is taken by the RMS Carpathia to New York, where she gives her name as Rose Dawson. She sees Cal for the last time on Carpathia's deck, looking for her. It is revealed that Cal commits suicide after losing his fortune in the Crash of 1929.
Having completed her story, the elderly Rose goes alone to the stern of Lovett's ship. There, she pulls out the Heart of the Ocean, revealing that she had it all along, and drops it into the water. The final shot of the film is of young Rose being reunited with Jack at the Grand Staircase of the Titanic, surrounded and applauded by those who perished on the ship.
Director: James Cameron
Producers: J. Cameron and J. Landau
Editing: J. Cameron, C. Buff, and R.A. Harris
Composer: James Horner
Starring:
- Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson
- Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater
- Billy Zane as Caledon Nathan "Cal" Hockley
- Bill Paxton as Brock Lovett
- Kathy Bates as Margaret "Molly" Brown
- Bernard Hill as Captain John Edward Smith
Plot and Critical Review: In 1996, treasure hunter Brock Lovett and his team explore the wreck of the RMS Titanic, searching for a necklace set with a valuable blue diamond called the Heart of the Ocean. They believe the diamond is in Caledon "Cal" Hockley's safe, which they recover. They do not find the diamond, but a sketch of a nude woman wearing the diamond. The drawing is dated April 14, 1912, the night the Titanic hit the iceberg. One-hundred-year-old Rose Dawson Calvert learns of the drawing and contacts Lovett, informing him that she is the woman in the drawing. She and her granddaughter Elizabeth "Lizzy" Calvert visit Lovett and his team. When asked if she knew the whereabouts of the necklace, Rose recalls her memories aboard the Titanic, revealing that she is Rose DeWitt Bukater, a passenger believed to have died in the sinking.
In 1912, the upper class 17-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater boards the Titanic in Southampton, England with her 30-something fiancé Caledon "Cal" Hockley and her mother, Ruth DeWitt Bukater. Cal and Ruth stress the importance of Rose's engagement, since the marriage will mean the eradication of the Dewitt-Bukater debts; while they appear upper-class, Rose and her mother are experiencing severe financial troubles. Distraught and frustrated by her engagement, Rose considers attempting suicide by jumping off the stern of the ship. Before she leaps, a drifter and artist named Jack Dawson intervenes and persuades her not to. As he helps her up from the stern, her dress catches and she falls. Jack grabs Rose's arm and helps her to pull herself back onto the boat. Cal, his friends and the sailors, overhearing Rose's screams, believe Jack attempted to rape her. She explains that Jack saved her life, hiding her suicide attempt by claiming she slipped while trying to see the propellers. Jack supports Rose's story, though Hockley's manservant, former Pinkerton agent Spicer Lovejoy, is unconvinced. Jack and Rose develop a tentative friendship. Soon after, Cal and Ruth forbid her to see Jack again. Rose defies them and meets Jack at the bow of the ship. She has decided she would rather be with him than with Cal, and the two share a passionate kiss.
They go to Rose's stateroom, where she asks Jack to sketch her wearing nothing but the Heart of the Ocean, an engagement present from Cal. Afterwards, the two hide in William Carter's Renault (stowed in the cargo hold) and make love in the backseat before moving to the ship's forward well deck. After witnessing the ship's collision with an iceberg and overhearing the ship's lookouts discussing how serious it is, Rose tells Jack they should warn her mother and Cal. Cal has discovered Rose's drawing and her taunting note in his safe, so he frames Jack for stealing the Heart of the Ocean by having Lovejoy plant it in Jack's pocket. Jack is arrested, taken down to the Master-at-arms's office and handcuffed to a pipe. Rose runs away from Cal and her mother (who has boarded a lifeboat) to rescue Jack from imprisonment. She frees him with an axe.
After much turmoil, Jack and Rose return to the top deck. Cal and Jack want Rose safe, so they persuade her to board a lifeboat, Cal claiming that he has an arrangement that will allow him and Jack to get off safely. After Rose is out of earshot, Cal admits that there is an arrangement, but he will not use it to help Jack. Realizing that she cannot leave Jack, Rose jumps back on the ship and reunites with him. Infuriated, Cal takes Lovejoy's pistol and chases Jack and Rose into the flooding dining saloon. When Cal runs out of ammunition, he sarcastically wishes them well, then realizes he left the Heart of the Ocean in Rose's overcoat. Cal abandons Lovejoy and returns to the boat deck, where he boards a lifeboat by pretending to look after an abandoned child. Jack and Rose go through grueling struggles just to return to the top deck. By the time they do, people everywhere are falling to their deaths and the lifeboats have gone. The ship begins to quickly sink. Jack and Rose take refuge on the now-vertical stern, which washes them into the Atlantic Ocean. They grab hold of a door that only supports one person. Jack remains in the water, clinging to the door. As Rose accepts their fate, Jack assures her that she will live to have a long, happy life. He says that when she dies it will be in her own bed. As they await rescue, Jack dies from hypothermia.
When a lifeboat finally returns to the site of the sinking, Rose is thinking of staying put and dying with Jack, but is then inspired by Jack's words and determined to live. She blows a whistle taken from a nearby frozen crew member, and is taken by the RMS Carpathia to New York, where she gives her name as Rose Dawson. She sees Cal for the last time on Carpathia's deck, looking for her. It is revealed that Cal commits suicide after losing his fortune in the Crash of 1929.
Having completed her story, the elderly Rose goes alone to the stern of Lovett's ship. There, she pulls out the Heart of the Ocean, revealing that she had it all along, and drops it into the water. The final shot of the film is of young Rose being reunited with Jack at the Grand Staircase of the Titanic, surrounded and applauded by those who perished on the ship.
When dealing with a film as historic and important as "Titanic", i'll leave these next couple paragraphs to the expert:
"Movies like this are not merely difficult to make at all, but almost impossible to make well. The technical difficulties are so daunting that it's a wonder when the filmmakers are also able to bring the drama and history into proportion. I found myself convinced by both the story and the saga. The setup of the love story is fairly routine, but the payoff--how everyone behaves as the ship is sinking--is wonderfully written, as passengers are forced to make impossible choices. Even the villain, played by Zane, reveals a human element at a crucial moment (despite everything, damn it all, he does love the girl).
The image from the Titanic that has haunted me, ever since I first read the story of the great ship, involves the moments right after it sank. The night sea was quiet enough so that cries for help carried easily across the water to the lifeboats, which drew prudently away. Still dressed up in the latest fashions, hundreds froze and drowned. What an extraordinary position to find yourself in after spending all that money for a ticket on an unsinkable ship." (Roger Ebert, December 19, 1997)
My Rating: 8.5/10
Content to Caution:
V-3 - Some fistfights and assault with a handgun. Several passengers fight with members of the ship's crew to escape the lower levels of the vessel as it sinks.
L-2.5 - No comment.
DU-2 - Smoking and drinking in social settings.
RT-1 - No comment.
H/S-4 -It's the sinking of the Titanic...you can expect a bit of suspense.
CH-2 - N0 comment.
S/N-3 - One scene in which Jack paints Rose in the nude, and one scene of love making.
The "Reel Revelation": "Letting Go and Turning The Page"
Do you like to read? I prefer movies (duh), but have read enough to appreciate what it means to end one chapter and begin another. But have you ever read a chapter that was so good, you didn't want to start the next one? You know what I mean; when you come upon a chapter so invigorating and exciting that you'd just as soon read it again and again rather than turn the page and continue with the story? There are moments in life that are just like that; when you have to decide whether to move on with your personal story or linger in the previous chapters of experience and memory. While it's nice to take a occasional stroll down "Memory Lane", isn't it worthwhile to turn the page and see what comes next?
Of all the memorable scenes in "Titanic", few are as emotionally potent as the final scene between Rose and Jack as the two drift on a piece of wreckage and cling to each other for dear life. Because the wreckage (a large door) can only hold one person without sinking, Jack has Rose get on the door while he holds on with his arms; the rest of his body submerged in the cold sea. Both are soaked and freezing, but Jack quickly succumbs to hypothermia and begins to die. You no doubt remember this heart-breaking dialogue:
Rose: It's getting quiet.
Jack: It's gonna take a couple of minutes to get the boats organized. I don't know about you, but I intend to go write a strongly worded letter to the White Star Line about all this.
Rose: I love you, Jack.
Jack: Don't you do that. Don't you say your good-byes. Not yet, do you understand me?
Rose: I'm so cold.
Jack: Listen, Rose. You're gonna get out of here, you're gonna go on, and you're gonna make lots of babies, and you're gonna watch them grow. You're gonna die an old... an old lady warm in her bed, not here, not this night. Not like this, do you understand me?
Rose: I can't feel my body.
Jack: Winning that ticket, Rose, was the best thing that ever happened to me... it brought me to you. And I'm thankful for that, Rose. I'm thankful. You must do me this honor. You must promise me that you'll survive, that you won't give up, no matter what happens, no matter how hopeless. Promise me now, Rose, and never let go of that promise.
Rose: I promise.
Jack: Never let go.
Rose: I'll never let go, Jack. I'll never let go.
But let go she must. Let go of his body, at least. Knowing Jack is dead, Rose kisses his hands then watches as his body sinks into the deep. Only after she's let him go is she able to signal a lifeboat and save herself. Had she remained with him, she would certainly have perished.
It's not always easy to let go, is it? But why was it so hard for Rose to let go of Jack? Love? Certainly; they were obviously madly in love with each other. Freedom? You bet; Jack showed Rose a way of life that she had never known. Promise? Yes; Jack made promises to Rose that she didn't want to let go of, promises that she believed Jack would fulfill for her and with her. These three things combine to make a wonderful experience that, for Rose, was worth holding onto. And that's something to reflect on for our own lives, how we hold on to the experiences that are important to us. After all, Rose had to let go of Jack's body, but she was able to hold onto his memory forever. Rose went on to marry, have children, and enjoy a full and rich life. While she never told anyone about Jack Dawson, she always cherished the memory of him. If only real life could be like that.
About two years ago I had to say goodbye to my best friend. She was much more than my best friend, however, she was my darling and the joy of my heart. And when she left I had to decide whether to hold on or let go of her. Though she was physically absent, the memory of her was so strong and often far more than I felt I could bear. I chose to ignore everything else and re-read " her chapter" over and over again. I poured over every word, every memory, every encounter, every touch, and every prayer we shared together. I put the rest of my life's story on hold, just so I could linger in the memory of her. I called it "grief", for I was indeed grieving, but in my heart I knew that I wasting precious time holding on to a memory when the future was knocking at the door. Even as I write these words, I cannot honestly say that i've let go of her memory altogether. But I have at least turned the page and started the next chapter of my life. I've done none of this, however, by my own power.
"The Spirit of the LORD is upon me,
Because He anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor,
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD." (Luke 4:18-19)
When Jesus spoke these words he was quoting the prophet Isaiah who was sent to nation of Israel while they were in captivity in Babylon. But in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is speaking of Himself and the mission He was sent to complete. But the people to whom he was sent weren't being held captive in Babylon, so what did He mean when He said "proclaim release to the captives"? He meant release from sin and death, yes, and he also meant release from the bondage of the past.
Is there something in your life that you're holding onto? Have you been re-reading the same chapter and not turned the page to see what's next? Have you resisted the releasing power of the grace of God in your life? Perhaps you are like me and have chosen to hold onto a memory that pleases and delights the spirit; memories of childhood, innocence, loved ones, and better days. Or perhaps your heart is wrapped around an experience that has wounded and scarred you in ways you cannot fully express or understand. Whatever your situation may be, I believe that God is at hand, and He is ready to help you let go of your hindrances and move into a new season of life.
Turn the page and brace yourself; for God alone knows what the next chapter will bring.
When Jesus spoke these words he was quoting the prophet Isaiah who was sent to nation of Israel while they were in captivity in Babylon. But in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is speaking of Himself and the mission He was sent to complete. But the people to whom he was sent weren't being held captive in Babylon, so what did He mean when He said "proclaim release to the captives"? He meant release from sin and death, yes, and he also meant release from the bondage of the past.
Is there something in your life that you're holding onto? Have you been re-reading the same chapter and not turned the page to see what's next? Have you resisted the releasing power of the grace of God in your life? Perhaps you are like me and have chosen to hold onto a memory that pleases and delights the spirit; memories of childhood, innocence, loved ones, and better days. Or perhaps your heart is wrapped around an experience that has wounded and scarred you in ways you cannot fully express or understand. Whatever your situation may be, I believe that God is at hand, and He is ready to help you let go of your hindrances and move into a new season of life.
Turn the page and brace yourself; for God alone knows what the next chapter will bring.
See you tomorrow - E.T.
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